{"id":50847,"date":"2016-05-19T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/baleinesendirect.org\/jeune-phoque-vivant-sur-la-plage-que-faire\/"},"modified":"2020-05-13T18:42:18","modified_gmt":"2020-05-13T18:42:18","slug":"live-seal-pup-on-the-beach-what-should-you-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/baleinesendirect.org\/en\/live-seal-pup-on-the-beach-what-should-you-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Live Seal Pup on the Beach: What Should You Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The months of May and June correspond to the pupping season for harbour seals. Every year, the Quebec Marine Mammal Emergency Response Network<\/a> handles about twenty calls involving live young seals stranded on shore; such situations can appear critical and local residents are eager to assist the animals. What should you do? Leave the animal alone and don’t intervene.<\/p>\n

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Harbour seal pup \u00a9 Normand Saumur<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Harbour seals will be giving birth in the next few weeks and females nurse for 4 to 6 weeks (May through early July). During this period, pups can often be seen briefly alone on the beach while females return to the water to feed. The baby seals can “whine” for their mothers, which is when they are sometimes mistaken for animals in trouble. “One must avoid the mindset whereby the young have been abandoned: human presence near the young frightens the mother, a seal left to fend for itself is concerning to local residents who try to help it by moving it or prodding it toward the water, which considerably reduces the chances that the female will return”<\/em> explains veterinarian St\u00e9phane Lair<\/a> of the Centre qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois sur la sant\u00e9 des animaux sauvages.<\/p>\n

For these mammals, weaning occurs from mid-June to late July. In order to concentrate their energy on growing, seal pups often rest out of the water, sometimes on busy beaches. They can remain there for several hours or even days. Most of the time, they are unaware of the various dangers lurching and don’t respond to an approaching human.<\/p>\n

What should you do if you see a young seal?<\/strong><\/p>\n